


The Six Foot Club

by TsarinaTorment



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Alan's gonna be tall one day, Gen, Post-Canon, Siblings, Virgil might be short(er) but he's still big, written by an author whose younger sibling out grew them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsarinaTorment/pseuds/TsarinaTorment
Summary: Outgrowing Gordon was an inevitability, but Alan hadn't given much thought about the respective heights of his other brothers.
Relationships: Alan Tracy & Virgil Tracy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	The Six Foot Club

Alan had known for several years that he wouldn't be the shortest forever, despite Gordon's insistence to the contrary. There was an inevitability about him reaching his fellow blond's height, and then surpassing it, and when that eventuality occurred, everyone knew about it. Whether it was Alan's celebration about no longer being the smallest in the family (although Gordon retaliated immediately that he would always be the _baby_ of the family), or Gordon alternating between complaints about the unfairness of it all and taking the high ground and airily proclaiming that height meant nothing and that being short had its uses, it was impossible to _not_ know that Alan had achieved what he'd been threatening to do ever since the start of his gangly teenage years and overtaken his brother.

The hype did not fade, at all, much to the amusement of everyone in the family except Gordon, who was getting quickly fed up of his new nickname 'short stuff' and was increasing his pranks to compensate – with a side of punishing the latest brother to say it. Even John wasn't immune, and Alan knew there was a whole host of things lined up for him next time he so much as placed a toe on planet Earth again. Considering John had not yet deigned to return to Earth since implied that Alan was not the only one that knew that.

The hype, however, served to distract from the other eventuality, one that Alan had never even considered. He'd been so excited to finally not be the shortest, relegating Gordon to forever carry that title, that it had never crossed his mind that growth spurts didn't just stop once you'd surpassed one brother.

"Alan, grab the coffee for me, would you?"

Being able to reach the top cupboard was another bonus of his extra few inches. No more was it Scott's domain, unreachable by others without the help of a step – or John on his rare time Earthside. Alan had unfettered access, and had been sorely disappointed to find there was nothing particularly exciting up there. There was, however, the spare coffee, and Virgil pre-coffee was still terrifying enough that Alan obeyed without thinking.

It was only as he handed the tin to his brother that it registered.

Alan could reach the top cupboard without a step. Virgil could not.

No, that couldn't be right. Virgil was the big guy, the family bear. There was no way he'd out grown _Virgil_ , was there? Except… He looked at his brother, and realised he was having to look ever so slightly _down_ to meet his eyes. It was barely there, an inch difference at most, but it was _there_.

"So you've noticed, huh?" Virgil asked, mug of coffee in hand and brown eyes amused. "I wondered which one of you would be first."

Alan frowned.

"Which one of… who?" he asked, wondering who else would actually comment- oh, wait. "Gordon?"

A small grin told him he'd got it in one.

"He'll attempt to make himself feel better by dragging me in," Virgil shrugged. "As though it wasn't obvious you're headed for Scott and John's height years ago."

"You're not mad?" Alan asked, and Virgil laughed.

"I have better things to do than be annoyed about being overtaken by a beanpole," he said. "Besides, I can still pick you up with one hand." He made a grabbing hand gesture towards the back of Alan's neck, and he dodged.

"Okay, okay, I get it!"

"Well, that's good," Virgil said, returning his hand to cradle his mug of coffee. "Do me a favour and catch Scott up, too? I've got a bet on with him whether you will or not. Our big brother doesn't want to admit the baby of the family might be on his eyeline one day."

"Me, catch Scott?" Alan asked. Virgil was big, but Scott and John were _tall_. Like, actually tall. "You think I could?"

"I think you've got a pretty good chance, especially with all that time you spend in zero-G," Virgil commented. "Scott's still sour that John gains an inch or two when he's in space for so long."

That was a very good point. Alan knew he wasn't supposed to hear his eldest brothers arguing schematics over whether or not those inches John gained in zero-G counted towards his official height, but they weren't always as quiet as they thought and his room _was_ right next to Scott's. Alan had never actually paid attention to which of his tall brothers was tall _er_ , but after Virgil's comment he made a mental note to watch closely next time John came down.

Maybe Scott's height wasn't as untouchable as he thought. He grinned.

"I want to see how long it takes Gordon to notice," Virgil continued, wrenching him back to the current conversation. "Don't tell him."

Virgil might now be shorter, but he was still stronger and slightly scary at times. Alan agreed and got a grin in return before Virgil headed for the stairs.

"Oh, and Alan?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to the six foot club."

**Author's Note:**

> I always get caught out by how much shorter than Scott Virgil is - in fact, I don't think Virgil's all that much taller than Gordon, he's just bigger - and so this random thing was born.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Tsari


End file.
